A 49-year-old Oklahoma woman was extradited to Memphis on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026, and booked into the Shelby County jail in connection with the 2007 beating death of Danny Harris. The move comes after a Shelby County prosecutor’s review that suggested the wrong person may have been convicted in the killing and that new evidence points to a different suspect, reopening a case many in Memphis assumed was settled nearly twenty years ago.
Booking At 201 Poplar And The New Charges
Booking records show the woman, identified as 49-year-old Sarah Lucas, was flown to Memphis and processed at the Shelby County Jail at 201 Poplar on charges of facilitation of first-degree murder and aggravated perjury, according to FOX13 Memphis.
How Investigators Tracked Her To Oklahoma
Shelby County prosecutors say investigators located and arrested Lucas in Oklahoma after the District Attorney’s Justice Review Unit reopened the file. Local reporting earlier this winter said agents traveled to Oklahoma to take her into custody and that authorities were pursuing extradition back to Shelby County as part of the renewed probe, as reported by Action News 5.
DA Says Original Defendant Was Wrongly Convicted
District Attorney Steve Mulroy announced in mid-January that his office had concluded Andrew Hayes was wrongfully convicted in the 2007 killing and that lawyers had filed a petition to vacate his conviction that the DA’s office would not oppose, according to the Daily Memphian. Mulroy told reporters that investigators believe Hayes’ lengthy interrogation produced a false confession and that some details in that confession did not match the physical evidence.
New Court Filing Lays Out A Different Story
Prosecutors and the Tennessee Innocence Project have pointed to a court filing submitted in January that local outlets say contains a statement from the suspect investigators now identify. That filing reportedly describes the suspect saying she and her mother were the only people in the apartment, and that she helped hold the victim down while her mother struck him and then tried to clean the scene, according to Action News 5.
Charges, Custody And The Legal Road Ahead
Local coverage says charges have been filed and Lucas is being held at the downtown facility pending an initial court appearance while prosecutors prepare the case for Shelby County courts. Prosecutors have said they intend to pursue accountability in the case even as Hayes’ attorneys press to vacate his conviction, the reporting shows.
A Killing That Reaches Back To 2007
Harris was beaten to death in his Cordova apartment in August 2007, and his decomposing body was discovered on Oct. 26, 2007, according to trial and appellate records. Hayes was convicted in 2010 of first-degree murder and aggravated robbery and sentenced to life in prison, as outlined in court filings available on legal archives such as Justia.
How The Case Landed Back Under The Microscope
Local reporting and outside advocates, including the Tennessee Innocence Project and independent journalists, pushed for a fresh look at the files, and prosecutors say those inquiries produced the material that led to the arrest in Oklahoma and the new charges, coverage of the reopening shows. National and local outlets traced the sequence of reporting, filings, and the DA’s review that together revived scrutiny of the case, per local coverage archived at Yahoo News.
What To Watch As The Case Returns To Court
Lucas remains in custody at the Shelby County Jail at 201 Poplar while prosecutors prepare for arraignment and court officials set an initial appearance. The county’s inmate information confirms 201 Poplar as the main detention site, according to the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office. As the case moves back into the local court, defense and prosecution are expected to battle over the new filings while Hayes’ lawyers continue to pursue the petition to free their client.
